[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                          spc billy jess watts

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President. I express our Nation's deepest thanks and 
gratitude to a young man and his family from Meeteetse, WY. On February 
5, 2004, SPC Billy Jess Watts was killed in the line of duty while 
preparing to deploy to Iraq to serve his country in the war on 
terrorism. While traveling in a military convoy to a final training 
exercise before leaving for duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, SPC Watts 
died when the vehicle he was riding in hit ice and rolled over.
  SPC Watts was a member of the Wyoming Army National Guard's 2-300 
Field Artillery Battalion. He enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and 
camping, and loved watching NASCAR racing and pitching horseshoes. He 
loved his family and his country. SPC Watts' profound sense of duty led 
him to join the U.S. Army following his high school graduation, and the 
National Guard upon his return to Wyoming. He was an American soldier.
  It is because of people like Billy Watts that we continue to live 
safe and secure. America's men and women who answer the call of service 
and wear our Nation's uniform deserve respect and recognition for the 
enormous burden that they willingly bear. Our people put everything on 
the line everyday, and because of these folks, our Nation remains free 
and strong in the face of danger.
  SPC Watts is survived by his wife Connie and his son Austin John, as 
well as parents, Bill and Bertha, sisters Bonnie, Betty and Barbara, 
and his brothers in arms of the 2-300 Field Artillery Battalion. We say 
goodbye to a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a soldier, and an 
American. Our Nation pays its deepest respect to SPC Billy Jess Watts 
for his courage, his love of country and his sacrifice, so that we may 
remain free. He was a hero in life and he remains a hero in death. All 
of Wyoming, and indeed the entire Nation are proud of him.


                           2lt luke s. james

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, you don't have to do much more than open 
the morning newspaper or turn on the evening news to understand that 
the enemies of freedom are working hard in Iraq.
  They lay ambushes for our troops, set off bombs by remote control, 
and drive explosive-laden autos into crowds of innocent Iraqis who want 
nothing more than a brighter future for their country and their 
children.
  Terrorists connected with al-Qaida, foreign interests and Baathist 
loyalists conspire to destroy the dream of a free Iraq before it is 
fully born. They will fail.
  But Saddam Hussein, a one-man weapon of mass destruction who preyed 
on his countrymen and threatened his neighbors, is in custody. His 
murderous sons are dead. His lieutenants and henchmen are captured, 
killed, or moving nearer those fates with each passing hour.
  The same fates await those who would steal the dream of liberty and 
replace it with a nightmare of repression, corruption and domination. 
America's front line in her war against terrorism is now in the fields 
of Afghanistan and the streets of Iraq instead of in the skies over New 
York and Washington, DC.
  Like Americans everywhere, I was thrilled to see the statues of 
Saddam Hussein knocked from their pedestals. Those images reminded me 
that the Iraqi people needed our help, our tanks, our troops, and our 
commitment to topple a brutal dictator. I am proud of our military and 
America's commitment to make the people of the Middle East more free 
and secure.
  Without a doubt, our military men and women will face more difficult 
days in Iraq, and the Iraqi people will be tested by the 
responsibilities that come with freedom. Everyone expects more 
violence. Freedom is messy--nowhere more so than in a country that has 
just shaken off a brutal dictatorship.
  Today I rise to honor who made the ultimate sacrifice one can make 
for his country.
  A few days ago I stood in Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 
memory of 2LT Luke S. James.
  Lieutenant James, 24, was a native of Hooker, OK, and a graduate of 
Oklahoma State University. He was killed in Iraq on January 27 during a 
roadside ambush near Iskandariyah.
  Lieutenant James was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry 
out of Fort Bragg, NC. He'd only been in Iraq a few days.
  Our prayers and debt of appreciation now go to his family. He is 
survived here on the homefront by his wife Molly, his 6-month-old son, 
Bradley, his parents Brad and Arleen James, his sister Sharla, and his 
brother Kirby.
  ``That was his dream (to serve in the Army),'' Molly James said in a 
recent interview. ``He wasn't afraid to go. He was able to do his duty 
and die with honor.''
  As we watch the dawn of a new day in Iraq, we must never forget that 
the freedom we enjoy every day in America is bought at a price.
  2LT Luke James did not die in vain. He died so that many others could 
live freely. And for that sacrifice, we are forever indebted. Our 
thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and with the troops 
who are putting their lives on the line in Iraq.

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